County Durham rogue builder fleeced customers out of £111,000

A rogue builder has been jailed for three years after fleecing clients out of tens of thousands of pounds and using their money to fund his gambling.

Stephen Loughlen, 55, of Flint Hill, Stanley, County Durham, failed to complete work on three victims' homes, citing bad weather as an excuse.

He pleaded guilty to six counts of fraud, amounting to nearly £110,925 between February 2018 and July 2019.

It emerged Loughlen had developed a gambling problem around the same time.

Trading as Newcastle Facilities and Maintenance Ltd, Loughlen took £61,000 from one customer for an extension to her property, but the work stalled over several months.

The true value of the work completed was later found by trading standards officers to be just £14,083.

Another victim paid more than £56,000 for work to her home, but after being inspected the work was found to have been worth just £28,418.

Loughlen had failed to supply roof trusses, windows, internal doors, roof tiles, external wall tiles and a combi boiler as had been agreed.

A third customer paid £52,000 for work on her house which was due to be completed by Christmas 2018, although its true value was just £22,757.

In July 2019 Loughlen emailed the woman to say he was not completing the work, leaving her with a loft and roof open to the elements and crumbling plaster on the ceilings.

She was forced to use money from her husband's pension to hire another builder to finish the job.

The three properties concerned were in Cullercoats in North Tyneside, Consett in County Durham and Hartburn in Northumberland.

Investigation officers from Durham County Council discovered a large amount of money paid to Loughlen by his victims was spent on betting.

Although he paid for labourers and materials, more went on gambling and he was losing more money than he was bringing in, putting himself in an "increasingly desperate situation".

Since pleading guilty at an initial hearing in November, Durham Crown Court heard he has tried to raise money to repay his victims, with Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings now under way.

Owen Cleugh, Durham County Council's public protection manager, said the "unfair" practices Loughlen used were "unacceptable" and "can cause a great deal of stress and worry to the victims" as well as leaving them out of pocket.

"The case should act as a reminder to traders that they have a responsibility to act fairly and honestly and, if they fail to do so, they should expect to face the consequences," he added.